The Lion King: In the Snow
by Loewe
Summary: What are the origins of the Pridelanders? Who founded their noble race? Find this humble beginning in the most unlikely of places: the Scandinavian north. A story of adventure, life and magic. Rated T for mature themes. Culturepedia located on my profile.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to Löwe's (mine) story. All characters here belong to me. Use them without my permission and I will eat your family.

Well, this is probably unlike any LK fanfiction you've read so far. I'm not even sure if that's a good thing or not. Oh well. I won't dwell upon the fact that some people might not like the overwhelming cultural influence. Just read it, please. I tried my hardest. For you.

And, seriously. I didn't think it was so short. I was positive it was at least 4K words before. Oh well.

* * *

Chapter 1: _I found you…_

_In Swedish Sápmi, an unspecified _(heh heh, wouldn't you like to know) _amount of years before the events of _The Lion King _movies:_

A harsh, winter blizzard was raging over the land. The land being covered in snow, a normal person in his right mind would have never considered even stepping outside in such weather, not even if he was hungry and fighting starvation. But such was not the case for one lioness, radically out of place, trudging through the Swedish snow.

Áina had a hard life ever since her early years. Up until the limits of her memory she could remember nothing but snow, snow, and more snow. The snow made everything harder to do; to walk, sleep, and eat, but the snow was part of her life, just like breathing. Her mother had died when Áina was old enough to take care of herself, and her father was so indifferent to her that she didn't even know his name, much less know what he had looked like. Completely alone in the world and left to fend for herself, she couldn't help but hope that she would find another soul in the snow.

Moving about the snow was extremely tiring, and the subzero temperatures weren't helping. Áina knew that if she didn't take shelter soon she would freeze to death, and then all her struggles would have been worth nothing. She slowly looked around. To her joy, nearby was a cliff with a small indentation in it. Murmuring a quiet thanks to the heavens, barely heard by the gods, she hurried to the shelter without a second thought.

The white lioness limped into the cave. Now, safe from the wind and the snow, Áina couldn't do anything but fall over from exhaustion. She simply couldn't stand on her paws anymore. They felt like they were all in blisters, which wasn't far from the truth. Although in a situation in which another person in her place would have been screaming from the pain, Áina was silent. The snow had steeled her nerves over many long months, and, having grown up with constant suffering a bunch of blisters on her paws was trivial. Finally, Áina succumbed to a grateful sleep, and drifted off far into the land of dreams, away from the eternal white, and into the warm embrace of Eadneipmil.

o0o

Buollabuohccid had been out hunting for what seemed like forever. The blizzard was increasing in strength, blurring the snow lion's vision even further. Squinting his eyes to mere slits, he struggled onward, hoping to find something under which he could wait out the storm to go hunting again. He had not eaten for three tormenting days, and he didn't think he could last much longer without food.

Buollabuohccid himself didn't have a clue where he came from. All he remembered was how he as a cub wailed out into the sleepy, snowy forest, calling for his mama and papa. No discernable answer came, only the spooky howling of wolves. He remembered the painful freezing of the tears on his cheeks and the burning resentment to his parents for abandoning him. That resentment was the only thing that kept him warm for his first few months, in which he ate everything he could find: dry grass, rotting carcasses of long-dead animals, and, in reluctant desperation one time, his feces. Growing up, he started to go after living prey like moose and reindeer. It became easier and less revolting to live. However, his life was always hard in the perpetually snow covered Sápmi. It seemed that the snows had frozen his soul long ago, so he never complained and accepted that his life was his life.

However, there was a longing need still blazing in his heart: the need for warmth of another being. It was quite a fat chance to meet another lion in Sápmi. Buollabuohccid wasn't even sure if it was possible for two lions to meet and have a cub in this frozen hell, although he was living proof of it.

Buollabuohccid spent his whole life wandering Sápmi, looking for one of his own kind to live with. He looked everywhere; it really seemed he would die alone when the hope dwindled. But it was always rekindled, and Buollabuohccid would keep looking. It seemed that optimism ran in his veins.

You see, o dear reader, lions, even the snow variety, are social animals.

The blizzard's driving wind was reaching top speeds. It seemed to be trying its best to knock the wandering snow lion off of his feet, but Buollabuohccid was persevering, although he did not know where he was going. Terrifically exhausted, he suddenly saw his savior in a cave situated in a cliff side. His eyes widened against his will, and he made headway to the cave. Tears, vainly trying to protect his eyes from the blizzard, froze almost immediately in the extreme cold. Buollabuohccid kept tripping painfully over hidden rocks under the snow, but he finally reached his destination.

Stumbling in, Buollabuohccid breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then suddenly, his paw rested on something soft and warm. The cold snow lion felt as though his heart started to pump warm blood again and he lay down next to the warm mass, not giving a second thought on what it might be, only silently begging the gods to let him stay with the warmth for at least one night. Sleep came to him quickly.

o0o

It was still night when Áina woke to an unfamiliar sensation on her back. She leapt up, snarling at the direction in which she felt the weird feeling, but her snarl fell away upon seeing what she saw.

What she had felt was a sleeping male snow lion pressed quite close to her. Having never seen a male lion more than once, she wasn't sure what made her completely sure that he was a lion. She wasn't sure what made her almost automatically stop worrying about him attacking her, but maybe it had something to do with his jaws being slightly parted in his deep sleep. Maybe it was the frozen tears on the lion's cheeks. Maybe it was his moon-white mane, damp from the snow. Maybe it was how peaceful he looked as he slept, emitting a slight purr from the depths of his body.

Áina was jolted from staring at the lion when he suddenly gave a huge yawn and opened his eyes. When he saw Áina, he leaped up to his feet. Once awake, his face was automatically converted into his default expression, a wary snarl.

Both of their eyes were wide as they stared at each other in disbelief. They couldn't take their eyes off of each other. Finally, in a voice cracked from disuse, Buollabuohccid was the first one to speak.

"Are you a lion?" He asked, clearly not believing his eyes.

Áina looked at him with a bemused expression.

"That's an odd question to ask when meeting for the first time," She answered, cocking her head to the side.

Buollabuohccid could only open and close his mouth in awe. Áina couldn't help but smile.

"Come on, out with the words! You're looking kinda like a fish right now!" She laughed.

Her laughter sent ripples coursing through the male lion's body. It sounded so pretty to him, after all those horrible months of listening to the howling wind. Buollabuohccid finally came up with what to say. He, too, had gotten over the initial shock of meeting someone in the den, and the wariness that followed.

"I was looking for another lion forever… I… I can't believe I found one…" He stuttered, still in shock with huge eyes.

"Well, I sure am a lion. A lion_ess_, to be exact,"

"What's a lioness?" Buollabuohccid asked, getting more confused by the minute.

Áina couldn't believe her ears. _This guy… wow, he doesn't know who lionesses are!_

"You were a deprived child," She said lightheartedly, not intending any deeper meaning.

Buollabuohccid said nothing and snarled, the beautiful features of his face turning ugly.

Áina immediately sensed she had crossed a line. She bowed her head and murmured a quiet "sorry", feeling her cheeks grow red.

Buollabuohccid's expression lightened and he smiled. Áina once again opened her eyes wide in admiration; his smile was like eye candy to her.

"So, what's your name?" He asked, still smiling.

"Áina," She answered breathlessly.

"That's a wonderful name…" He looked at her pensively, as if trying to remember something from long ago. "Reminds me of someone I think I knew… or maybe I don't know her… or maybe she doesn't exist at all…"

Áina could only stare. She came to the conclusion that this guy didn't always have his head on the ground. She decided to break the awkward silence and waved her right paw in front of his muzzle to bring him back to earth. As for the lion, he jolted back into the real world. He had quite the confused look on his face, something that would be on a newly awakened victim of a terrible car crash. Áina didn't really know what to do but ask a simple question.

"I don't know your name yet…"

The lion blinked his eyes slowly, and answered with a toothy grin.

"Buollabuohccid."

Áina thought about that for a second.

"That doesn't sound like a real name." She said after a brief pause. "It sounds… slightly artificial." She mumbled out, trying to express herself.

Buollabuohccid looked at the curious lioness. "You're right, I made it up when I killed my first reindeer since I couldn't remember my name then." He said simply.

"I see." Somehow, Áina felt that there was more to this lion than meets the eye.

"Speaking of which," He inquired. "What were you doing out in a blizzard like that?"

"Hunting." Áina answered, yawning really wide.

"No big surprise. I was hunting, too." He stated. His voice then turned rueful. "I haven't eaten for days…"

"Aww, the big guy is hungry," Áina teased him. "Don't worry, we'll catch something to eat tomorrow. I don't think there'll be a storm."

Buollabuohccid's stomach growled loudly, and he managed to put on a lopsided grin.

"Sure."

They both laid down close together, in the same position they had found each other; laying on their sides and looking the same direction, with Áina's back to Buollabuohccid.

The two lions lay quietly for a while, before Buollabuohccid broke the silence.

"Áina?"

"Hmm?"

"So what exactly is a lioness…?"

Áina rolled her eyes.

"A lion without a mane and a – well, you know…" She felt her cheeks redden at almost saying what she said.

"A what?"

"You know…"

"I don't know."

Áina had a paroxysm of hysterical giggles.

"What is it? What's so funny?" Buollabuohccid asked in a hurt voice.

Áina could only giggle more.

"You're a moron, Áina," He said, turning over and closing his eyes.

"Good night to you too."

"Yep," He said, yawning hugely, falling asleep right away.

Sleep didn't come so easily to Áina, however. For some reason, something burning inside her was not content with looking simply at Buollabuohccid's back, so the lioness she crawled over to his front side. She lay down facing him, and just looked over his sleeping features. She couldn't help but admire how nicely constructed his face was.

She finally succumbed to sleep with a single thought while looking at Buollabuohccid's sleeping face.

_I found you…_

_

* * *

_Kudos to me. Now... all cultural/linguistic questions ever encountered in this story are redirected to my profile. There will be a mini-encyclopedia there, explaining cultural elements and translating Sámi words that are commonly used in the story. The words will be divided by sections according to chapter number, so it should be easy to navigate. Anyways, I hope you liked this start.

HIT IT LIKE A MAN

(That was creepy. I'm sorry. I had to.)

\/


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello, and, again, welcome to the Aperture Science Computer-Aided Fanfiction Reading Facility. We hope your brief detention in the No Update Vault has been a pleasant one. Your profile has been processed, and we are now ready to begin the reading. Reading will commence in five… four… three.. *FZZZZZT* *crackle* *indiscernible mumbling* *FZZZZZT* *beep* I'm back. Now, please proceed past the title so that the reading can commence. _

Chapter 2: _We'll be back soon_

A year before the meeting of Buollabuohccid and Áina:

_The morning was warmer than usual. For the living creatures of Sápmi, this day was fit for celebration. In Sápmi, especially in the middle of winter, one does not see temperatures rising above the freezing point of water, and neither does one see the wonderful blue sky, deficit of falling snow. _

_For some creatures it truly was a celebration, like to one small family of nomadic snow lions. This family lived for countless, miserable months in constant cheer. While every single thing of flesh and blood lived in Sápmi as though in a kind of lethargic state, this one crazy family seemed to be always energetic. Even in the harsh winter, when all has died around them and starvation is rampant, they managed to keep their spirits high by singing songs and telling stories. How such a lighthearted snow lion family could survive was beyond the comprehension of all the denizens of Sápmi._

_It was on that morning a clear but heavily accented voice ran through the forest, waking up all the sleepy creatures nestled in their burrows and nests. All stopped what they were doing to listen._

Hejla hejjuu…

_The first nonsensical line of the joik rang out in and over the forest._

Hejla hejjuu…

_There it sounded again, this time softer. Suddenly the joik erupted into a flurry of feeling, of joy and emotions, and it was sung at the loudest voice possible, setting some creatures' hooves or paws to tap involuntarily._

Hejjáhejjungá hu hejjáhejjulungá he hejjáhejjungá ho hejjáhejhá,

Oi, dát, hej, meahcci oađestuvat, sa hu hej haimma sean hejhajlulá…

_The song broke off suddenly, ending with raucous laughter far in the forest that sparked jealousy in many creatures' hearts; most of them had never laughed before in fear of the great winter gods._

"_Biekkan…" A female lion said, smiling, addressing her mate. "That wasn't the best song you ever came up with."_

"_I know, Meahci," Boomed a voice from the treetops. "But I was harr presse' fer a new song by li'le Orri dere." From the canopy of a large fur tree, a huge lion bounded down to the ground branch by thick branch. His mane and fur were of one color, the color of freshly fallen snow, and his eyes glittered with amusement._

"_Speaking of which, where is he?" The lioness called Meahci inquired as she looked around nervously._

"_I'm right here, mommy," Piped up a small snow lion cub from under a pile of snow. "I fell in while listening to daddy sing."_

_Meahci breathed a barely inaudible sigh of relief as she lifted her son out of the pile gently. As she placed him onto firm ground where he started to bat at her tail the little cub's father laughed._

"_Meahci, y' worry 'bout Orri too much. He has us, and hinnit a freeze t' death e'ery o'er minute, y' know!" He said, putting his paw onto his mate's. She could only look back with a troubled gaze. _

"_Yes, I know that, dear," She said quietly, her gaze wandering to rest on their little son, who was frisking around in the snow. She continued talking after a couple of minutes of watching the cub. "But I can't help but worry for him. Sápmi is not the right place for a small cub like him; I feel it in my bones. I just wish we could be in a place where the sun shines warmly all year…" She concluded quietly, resting her beautiful head on Biekkan's strong shoulder. _

_Biekkan shook his head sadly. "Dere's no use hopin' fer the impossible. As far as we're concerne', the snow and ice's e'erywhere and the sun shines warmleh for a few hours. Our ancestors ha' lived in Sápmi fore'er. Why shoul' da' change now?" _

"_But it's so cold…"_

"_Iss been col' since day one, dear. Like man' things, y' can't change it, no ma'er how harr you try," He ended by licking his mate's cheek._

"_When did you get to be so wise, Biekkan_?_" She asked, smiling._

_The male lion put on a smug face as he puffed out his chest. "Life teaches one ve'y much,"_

_Meahci swooned in mock admiration. "Oh wise one, teach me of life!" She said, as she bowed before Biekkan teasingly._

_The male lion cleared his throat, playing along. "Lesson nummer one: ne'er use sarcasm on yer be'ers." _

"_Oi, you!" Meahci laughed, playfully swatted at her mate._

"_Lesson nummer two: never attack your loved ones." He said, jumping nimbly out of the way, eyes glittering with laughter._

_Suddenly a small voice came from nearby. "Da-a-ad... I'm hungry…"_

"_Lesson nummer three: ne'er go hungry 'en you c'n ea'. Come on; less go fin' da' moose leg we burie' yesserday so we c'n feed the li'le guy." _

_Meahci started to look worried again._

"_Without Orri?" She asked, squinting into the little cub's direction._

_Biekkan rolled his eyes. "Ye'r beyon' help, dear. I think Orri's perfectly capable o' taking care o' hisself fer 'n hour."_

_Before Meahci could protest, Biekkan had bounded to his son's side._

"_Orri, we'ra ge' foo' s' y' c'n ea'. C'n y' wai' here fer an hour?"_

_The little snow lion looked up with bright eyes. "Really? I get to stay by myself?"_

"_Being alone in your age is dangerous," Biekkan said, his tone of voice turning serious. "That's why I'm asking you to be responsible and to stay in one spot so that we can find you later, _burre go lea_?"_

"Burre lea,_" The cub said, nodding solemnly._

"_Goo'. We'ra go now," Biekkan said, and before turning away to catch up with Meahci he ruffled the top of his son's head._

"_See ya!" The cub called squealed after his parents cheerfully._

"_We'll be back soon," Biekkan called over his shoulder._

"Dear_, are you completely sure this is a good idea?" Meahci asked, obviously not about to stop worrying. "Can't he come with us, just to be safe?""_

"Oi ipmilat_! No' dis again!" He said, with real exasperation. "Nothing coul' happen to him here. He promise' t' stay i' one place, so why are you worrying 'bout 'im? Besides, he'd just get tire' runnin' 'round with us."_

_Meahci looked dejected. "I don't know…"_

"_Jus' stop worryin'! Really, wha' coul' happen t'im?"_

_Biekkan was right. Nothing would happen to his son. _

_The tragedy that would happen would definitely hurt him, however…_

"We'll be back soon" _were the last words Orri would hear his father say._

o0o

Áina had never been a morning lion. She didn't ever take mornings kindly, especially when her sleep was as blissfully warm as last night's. That's why she almost killed Buollabuohccid with a strong swipe of her paw when he shook her roughly awake.

"Hey, watch the claws!" He gasped, as the angry swipe missed his face by mere centimeters. "You almost scratched my face off!"

Upon opening one eye and confirming that her would-be attacker was her newfound friend, she just mumbled "Leave me alone," and turned right back over.

Frustrated, Buollabuohccid jumped over the lioness to stand facing her front side.

"Áina, you promised to go hunting with me today! It's almost noon, and we still don't have any food," He said into her ear. Upon failing to receive an answer his face grew serious. "You leave me no choice, oh puny mortal..." He said solemnly, and, gathering all of the air in his lungs, yelled at the top of his voice:

"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!"

The snow lion's huge rooster imitation rang over the forest and those who were in a kilometer vicinity to him tried every single desperate way to close their ears.

Áina, in turn, leaped up as if her tail was just cut off. "What the hell was that?" She asked bemusedly, head ringing from the noise.

As for Buollabuohccid, well, he seemed to be on a roll.

"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!" He screamed again. Áina cringed as she lunged at Buollabuohccid while cursing under her breath.

He went for it again.

"COCK-A-DOODLE-" He was cut off abruptly, largely due to the fact that Áina had stuffed her paw into his mouth. If looks could kill, Buollabuohccid would have been dead ten times over.

"Frikkin' _doo._" Áina finished in a not-so amused voice, taking out her paw out and rubbing his saliva onto the lion's shoulder. "Are you done now?"

Buollabuohccid grinned stupidly.

"Oh, hi," He asked casually. "You're awake?"

Áina couldn't resist slapping her face into the palm of her paw in a way that could be potentially compared to a facepalm. Löwe just went there. Yes.

"No, I'm sleepwalking. See?" She retorted, "blindly" walking and bumping into her uncalled-for alarm clock. "Sleepwalking."

Buollabuohccid rolled his eyes and pushed her away gently.

"I wasn't wrong when I said you were a moron." He said, lazily licking his forepaw.

"Hm, I wonder who just screamed cock-a-doodle-doo at top of his lungs. _Surely_ not you?" Áina asked with mock brooding.

"_Certainly _not me. Anyway, let's cut the sarcasm and go hunt. I'm completely starving. We should have left _hours_ earlier."

"Yes, I know. Still didn't give you an excuse to wake me up so-" Áina yawned hugely. "Early."

Buollabuohccid snorted as the two lions started walking side by side out of the small cave. As he walked out of the cave, Buollabuohccid shook his mane and it puffed out momentarily before returning to normal. Áina caught her breath for the umpteenth time; last night, in the gloom of the cave, she didn't get a chance to look him over properly.

Buollabuohccid was quite handsome for a snow lion. He had a white mane like a most male snow lions, but unlike most male snow lions, he was extremely fastidious and took excellent care of his mane, and it was always groomed quite nicely. His face was pleasant to look at too: his expressive eyes always burned with the fire to live and a good, muscular build that he was quite proud of.

"Well, you could sleep through a stampede of elk, judging by the three times of rooster crowing it took to get you up and out of bed."

"Yeah, well, at least I don't snore." She answered, lifting her head up with a grin on her face, eyes dancing with laughter.

Buollabuohccid growled, his lip curling and his body growing hot. _I never knew that I snore, _he thought grumpily as he walked ahead of Áina, head low with embarrassment. The lioness, on the other hand, felt quite accomplished. Holding her head high in triumph, she followed Buollabuohccid with the smug grin on her face.

o0o

The day seemed truly a blessing. Although the sun didn't rise far from the horizon like it should in normal climates, everything under it felt the warmth and everything seemed to be fighting each other to get closer to the sun. The Sápmi taiga was simply full of life. The day reminded Buollabuohccid of something blissful, but he couldn't place his paw on it.

"All right," He said as the two lions reached a fork in the animal trails of the taiga. "You go left and I will go right. That way, we'll cover more ground…" He rubbed his stomach sadly. "And we'll eat sooner." He added quietly.

"Whatever you say. Make sure you bring back something big!" Áina answered.

"We meet here, at this fork. Just bring whatever you get first." Buollabuohccid decided. He was sure he would get the biggest game.

"So. Let's go, I guess?" Áina asked. Buollabuohccid nodded. "_Burre lea. _Good luck!" She called after her companion who already darted off into the taiga. He only flicked his ears in reply. Looking into his direction for a minute, she ran off into hers, ending up praying for good luck for herself. Somehow she felt she stood very little chance in beating his catch in size.

o0o

Buollabuohccid ran through the taiga, loving every second of the freedom the running granted him. Not only did he forget about the proposed hunt: he forgot his name, who he was, what he was, and he only took in what he saw. He saw the taiga waking up to a wonderful morning. Birds were already chirruping their heads off as if the warmth would leave any minute now, which was indeed possible. Small animals were leaping out of the burrows, seemingly running around aimlessly. The weather seems to drive even the most careful animals of the taiga into an odd state of sudden happiness.

As for our lion hero, he was taking the whole scene with unspeakable joy. It just made him want to break into song right then and there. Digging up a tune from his memory vaults, Buollabuohccid sang out into the taiga with his clear voice he inherited from his father.

_Hejla hejjuu..._

_ Hejla hejjuu..._

The whole forest was silent as the tune echoed far. Buollabuohccid listened to the echo very carefully. He never knew he knew that tune. A tear appeared in his eye as his memory opened up the vision of his father laughing and singing the same carefree and happy tune in a great fir tree with his mother smiling down from below. Buollabuohccid remembered falling into a snow drift, and remembered being lifted out by his mother. He remembered her sweet gentle scent. The small tear soon turned into a free-flowing river of grief, and Buollabuohccid fell onto the ground. Burying his face in the snow, which melted as the hot tears touched it, he did not care if he was wailing like a hungry cub. Losing one's cherished parents is too much even for the mightiest beast in Sápmi.

It was a while before the grieving lion stood up, shaking his mane. He briefly considered running away from Áina and everything he knew to jump into a river to a certain death, but once again, another flood of memories overtook him, this time of his mother.

She had said once to a small, wide-eyed Buollabuohccid: _"I want to warn you that there are many things in this life that seem impossible. You might be sometimes compelled to end your life because you have lost all hope… but know that suicide will never solve anything or help anyone. Your loved ones would be devastated… suicide is the ultimate act of sin towards them."_

"She was right," Buollabuohccid said out loud, startling some birds who were sitting on a low branch. "I can't leave yet. I have a new mouth to feed and someone to love."

With that, the smiling lion disappeared into the Sápmi forest once again, hunting his prey, heart warmed by the memories of his parents and the idea of having someone to look after.

One thing was bothering him, however: he could not remember the name his mother called him. It drew tears from his eyes again.

o0o

It seemed that all the lucky stars were aligned in a perfect fashion for Áina. She was less distracted by the good weather than her friend, and didn't fail to notice how all the biggest and juiciest game was out and about, carefully strolling around with no definite goal in mind. Everything was just so happy, including Áina; it's not everyday you get prey almost skipping into your jaws.

Áina quickly spotted something awe-inspiring: a huge male moose who was peacefully grazing on a small patch of brown, longish grasses which where sticking out from under the snow. Crouching in the bushes, the lioness spied on her prey and looked for the perfect moment to strike, eyes merely blue sapphires glinting in the shadows of the foliage. Normally, Áina wouldn't have decided to go after such a dangerous animal, but the moose seemed to be completely oblivious to his surroundings. It was just too good of a chance.

Finally! The beast turned its back to Áina's hiding spot and the eager lioness crept forward slightly and kept upwind. Unfortunately, a small, fragile stick that seemed to appear out of nowhere jumped under her paws, snapping and sending a small sound through the clearing where the moose was standing. Áina cringed as the moose lifted his head suddenly, ears erect. She could only crouch down again and wait until the moose confirmed that there was nothing to fear.

The golden chance did come, though. It took quite a bit of waiting, but finally the moose decided that he had nothing else to do with the patch of grass, so he casually walked out of the clearing, not suspecting that a hungry lioness was right next to him. His eyes widened as the terrible creature jumped out of the bushes with a huge roar that splits ears. Áina jumped right onto the moose, aiming for his neck and jugular for a quick kill. Unfortunately, she miscalculated her jump only by a few centimeters and landed squarely on the moose's back all splayed out.

The moose, having never been ridden by anything in his life, got quite angry. Charging around with Áina putting all her claws into his sides and holding on for dear life, the moose tried to shake the predator off. Maybe if the lioness and the moose were struggling in an open space like the African savanna, she might have held on, but since the taiga is chock full of closely spaced trees it didn't take long for her to get whacked in the face by a branch when the struggling animals speeded by a birch.

Uttering a strangled cry as she hit the ground and knocked all the wind out of her lungs, Áina quickly sprang up even though the impact hurt like as if it had broken all of her bones. She didn't want to pass up such a large catch. Not that she had a choice, anyway: the moose, already driven to red-hot madness by the lion claws in his sides, found it necessary to destroy his hunter and was charging at full speed.

Áina managed a small smirk. Right behind her was a fir tree… if she could jump right out of the moose's trajectory at the _just_ the right moment, the beast would hit himself, get stunned and hopefully stuck in the many braches of the tree. If she couldn't manage that and somehow slipped up… the moose would have a nice bloody tint to his antlers, then. Begging the heavens for luck, Áina tensed as the moose got nearer… ten meters… now five… ready…

And Áina jumped to the side at the perfect moment. Just as she felt her hind paws leaving the ground, she heard a massive _crack _and a startled cry of an angry moose in pain. Landing a meter away from the impact, she looked over her shoulder to see a sight she could barely keep from laughing at.

The moose indeed impacted the tree, and quite painfully so. The extreme breakneck speed that he was going at broke off a few braches of his antlers against the trunk of the tree. The lack of protection therefore made it quite simple for him to hit his head with all the immense strength he had. Aside from the injury, the moose's remaining intact antlers got spectacularly tangled in the branches of the tree. No matter how much the moose struggled, the grips of the tree were strong, and he could simply not get loose. It was at rare times like these in which the moose cursed his antlers, which had faithfully gored so many of his opponents.

Panting heavily, Áina breathed one big sigh of relief. Briefly sticking her muzzle into the snow to cool down, she walked up to the moose, and whispered the customary prayer of thanks into its ear. The ancient words seemed to calm the moose out of his fury, and he peacefully closed he eyelids and accepted his fate. Áina skillfully cut the jugular, and, as the steaming blood poured out of the wound, melting the snow, the eyes of the moose opened suddenly in pain… then slowly but surely, the fire of life that dwells in the hearts of every creature with flesh and blood died. The moose's eyes glazed over, and he breathed one final breath before falling into the eternal sleep. Áina broke off the branches of the tree that held the moose's antlers. Somehow, she felt that it was disrespectful to break such spectacular things such as the antlers. Loosened from the tree's grasp, the carcass slumped down into the forest floor snow.

Áina stood victoriously over her catch, not quite believing that she managed to bring down a full grown moose with such little struggle. _It must really be my lucky day, _She thought. _No matter how far or wide you look in Sápmi, you will never find anything bigger than a moose. So, Buollabuohccid, defeat is imminent! _She thought forcefully, smiling, and after hastily covering the gigantic carcass with broken twigs and snow, she ran off to meet Buollabuohccid at the assigned meeting spot at the crossroads.

o0o

Buollabuohccid was also walking to the crossroads, dragging a nicely-sized doe through the snow by the neck. He smiled. Áina would be so impressed by his catch. He could just hear her gasping with surprise. You just can't find this size of living meat on a normal Sápmi day.

He and Áina reached the crossroads at the same time. When Buollabuohccid saw that his friend had no prey in her jaws, he flung the doe onto the ground and called out cheerfully:

"Hey, Áina! Bad luck today, eh?"

Áina was just about to say that she couldn't bring her catch because it was so heavy, but she decided to play along for a bit. In genuine appreciation, she gasped when she saw Buollabuohccid's catch. As she was inspecting the doe, she lifted one eye to look at her friend. He was sitting, as proud as can be, watching her sniff the carcass.

"Yeah. Actually," Áina answered with fake embarrassment. "I seemed to have lost my touch because of the nice weather."

"Don't worry, you'll get something someday," Buollabuohccid teased her.

She nudged him playfully. "Do you think that you could help me hunt for something?" She asked.

"Sure," He answered, a bit confused. Usually independent predators of Sápmi didn't ask for help. "Let's just go in your direction again."

"Sure."

As they started walking onto Áina's path, Buollabuohccid caught the delicious smell of fresh dead moose. Áina left a small hole in the moose's cover on purpose so that she could find the carcass using smell.

"Oi, Áina," He said excitedly, after sniffing the air. "There's some fresh moose somewhere which probably didn't die a long time ago."

Áina also sniffed the air.

"You're right," She said, eyes growing wide with (fake) surprise. "I think the smell of it is coming from over there," She concluded, pointing her right paw into the direction of her catch.

Buollabuohccid bounded to the pile of forest debris and started digging up the moose. His eyes seemed to pop out as he took in the sheer size of the kill.

"Holy-" He stuttered, flabbergasted, staring at the obvious feline claw marks on the moose's sides. Áina just burst out laughing.

Wide-eyed, Buollabuohccid looked from Áina to the moose and back again.

"Wait," The lion shouted. "Why are you laughing? You… you… caught this… thing?" He asked incredulously. Áina could only laugh as an answer, but she managed to nod. "Damn… Áina, you're crazy." Buollabuohccid said and, still quite shocked, plunked down into a sitting position, not taking his eyes off of the carcass, like as if he believed that it was a hallucination and would disappear any second now.

"Just the huge size of this thing is amazing," He whispered in a hushed tone. Áina had gotten over the worst of her laughing fit.

"Well, don't just sit there! Help me drag it somewhere so that we can eat it later, how about that?" She asked, eyes glittering with amusement. "How about we take it to the cave where we spent last night?"

Buollabuohccid broke his staring contest with the moose and turned his head to Áina so slowly that Áina could've sworn that he was trying to crack his neck.

"What? Oh. Yeah. Yeah, let's… go." He answered, stumbling over words. He sheepishly grabbed a front leg of the moose, Áina another, and they both started pulling the huge beast bit by bit.

Pulling the carcass for a couple hundred meters, the pair of lions didn't talk as their jaws were full with moose leg. Both were looking forward, eagerly awaiting arrival to the cave as the load was quite heavy and very slow progress was being made. Suddenly, Áina heard a _crunch_ of bone and the moose load got suddenly much heavier. She looked quizzically to her right at Buollabuohccid, and to her surprise he was sitting some ways behind her with a piece of moose leg in his mouth and with a blank expression on his face. Áina could only stare at her companion.

"It was so delicious...so I... I bit down. And... And it kinda broke…" He mumbled through the bit of leg, looking thoroughly embarrassed with the situation. Áina remembered that he told her that he had not eaten for three days, this being the fourth. She decided to dismiss the unfortunate incident as natural. It would be harder to pull now, however, with a substantially sized extra piece of meat to carry. No meat could be wasted.

"No worries. You were really hungry. I understand. Tell me, what will we do with the doe you caught?" She asked, laughing at Buollabuohccid's vacant expression.

Buollabuohccid dropped the leg sadly. He obviously wanted to hold some food in his mouth for just a few more seconds.

"Oh, that. It does seem too good to waste… I suppose we could snack on the doe and have meals on the moose. How does that sound?"

"How long will the meat last?" Áina inquired.

"Certainly more than three days. I guess we'll see-" Buollabuohccid's stomach growled audibly. Áina smiled: it was funny to hear the stomach of such a huge and formidable creature such as a snow lion grumble and complain. "Never mind that, let's just get somewhere where we can eat, please."

"Fine, fine. Let's get home," She surprised herself as she said that. "Wait…" She said, confused.

Buollabuohccid only laughed. "No, that's fine. It's always better to come back to a warm home from a long journey, anyway."

o0o

The moose meat, still warm, filled the stomachs of the two ravenous lions with life-giving food. Buollabuohccid, as we already know, had not eaten for three whole days going on four, and Áina's day count wasn't too far behind. The two made short work of a third of the moose, leaving quite a substantial amount of good food. Buollabuohccid fretted over leaving it to waste, but Áina told him that it would be stupid to leave the cave while there's still this much food and that they didn't have to go anywhere. Buollabuohccid, being semi-solitary by nature, was slightly perturbed by the use of the first person plural pronoun referring to him an Áina as one group. He wasn't sure if he was ready to live with another lion, especially a lioness (he still wasn't too sure what they actually were), since he had, after all, gotten used to living and hunting on his own. He was, no doubt, quite happy with finding another soul in the snow, just as he had hoped and dreamed for many moons, but still… He would see if Áina wanted to travel with him, and then would figure out if he himself wanted to. All he needed was time to think.

It seemed that day that time was boundless as they finished their meal, temporarily but effectively dispersing all cares to the wind, leaving them to simply enjoy the wonderful weather. They walked out of the cave and were met by a wonderful view of Sápmi. For some reason, the two lions had not noticed that they were on a hill, nor did they notice the spectacular vista that would spread out everyday as they left the cave.

The cave was situated in the side of a huge rock that stood proudly upon a rocky hill. Although the hill itself wasn't too tall, one could see everything clearly as far as the horizon from its peak due to the relative flatness of the taiga and the surrounding tundra. Encircling the hill was a dense, dark-green swath of taiga. In the distance, about two thousand leaps from the rock, the snows of the tundra shimmered from afar. The snow that was situated closer and at the feet of the lions glimmered in a dazzling display of color. It seemed that every color of the rainbow was there, shining into their eyes, blinding them. The colors were starting to become warmer and warmer as Beaivvášipmil began her spectacular descent.

Áina was enchanted with the sunset. It was truly breathtaking to watch, in the pure, cold, and unpolluted air, and the lioness took in the view that could torment and tease the romantic heart of any poet. In fact, Áina would have composed a joik right there and then if she wasn't so afraid of how Buollabuohccid would react to her truly awful singing.

Buollabuohccid never thought that there was anything poetic about him; the snowstorm had dulled his smell, the ice had frozen the pads of his big paws, the blood of the hunted flooded his vision. But as he watched the sunset with Áina by his side, something as deep and rich as the omnipotent and ancient knowledge of the ipmilat compressed in his chest, and, like a frightened hare, sprang out in full force, out his chest, out of his throat. Buollabuohccid did not realize what was happening as the winter joik spilled out of his jaws agape like a never-ending and ancient river. The joik had no words, but the very pattern of the notes carried the essence of Beaivvášipmil and joy, simple joy, wonderful joy of finding one to share life with, the joy of banishing loneliness. The joik carried in it the essence of the land and the tundra, of ever-expanding horizons, and also it carried the essence of warmth of blood and friendship and family. It carried within it the essence of hot and cold, wet and dry, dark and bright, water and fire, Beaivváš- and Mánnuipmil, and the earth and the sky. Buollabuohccid sang and sang this wonderful, deep joik, and sang distantly yet so passionately that the loneliness that had amassed and amounted upon his heart had peeled away, layer by layer, like birch bark in the winter. And all this time Áina listened, and all of Sápmi listened, and even those who were deaf or too far away heard it; all heard this joik and did not know what it was or what it was meant for, but the joik entered them and their souls and touched them right in their heart and made them feel a wonderfully calm and simple happiness stemming from gratefulness to be alive… all, for a moment, experienced true happiness.

But that moment had to end, and it left as quickly as it had come, and the nature around became as still as anything after a loud disturbance when the joik finally ended. The normal murmur rose up again, and all of the simple-minded animals forgot about the joik but two.

"Buollabuohccid," Áina whispered as softly and quietly as falling morning snow. "I don't know what that was just now… But it was… I don't… I don't know…" Her thoughts and words simply ended; she had no way to express the thing that had just happened to her. All she could feel now were mixed emotions: surprise, awe, brooding, bliss, happiness, nostalgia, numbness - all were scrambled about in her head, and she could not make heads or tails of what she was thinking.

Buollabuohccid felt exactly the same way as Áina, and he said nothing in response. It felt like he was a listener and the not the joiker while he joiked. He felt as if he was one of the heakkat touched by the melody. He was positive that he was not the real joiker, and somehow - miraculously, perhaps - the ipmilat spoke through him, desiring to give Sámi a glimpse into their divine and holy world.

The last couple of notes were still ringing in Áina's head when the sun finally came to rest below the horizon. Having well rested, the two lions could go back to the cave where they had spent the night before.

It was dark and murky inside the orifice, and the wind once again struck up its own eerie joik just like the night before. Soon it would be over, as only the night could produce such tempests, and the night does not last long in Sápmi. Night is associated with storms and wind - the primary symbols of mischief and misfortune - but because it is so short it is treasured and considered a sacred time, and it is the only time when one can worship Mánnuipmil, the Moon Goddess.

Speaking of Mánnuipmil, she was shining bright that night. Only a small piece of her was missing; the next day she would be complete, and the auspicious Mánnučiegara festival would be celebrated all over Sápmi by the snow lions.

"You do remember what day it is tomorrow?" Áina asked as she and Buollabuohccid sat near the cave entrance, watching Mánnuipmil's slow and graceful dance through the starry night sky.

"No," The dreamy lion answered sleepily, and his closing eyes showing no sign of even minor recognition. He was already falling asleep, yawning, and he was not particularly fighting the sleepy heaviness that settled upon his eyelids.

Áina did a double-take. Mánnučiegara is a universal festival that is celebrated by every single snow lion there is in Sápmi. It honors male lions and their strength, and it is celebrated in the tundra, in the eyes of Tundraipmil, and in the light of Mánnučiegara, the white form of Mánnuipmil formed from the snows dug up by Boazuipmil. It was such an important holiday and festival that it was impossible to forget since it was always so well prepared for… Unless…

"You really don't know, Buollabuohccid…?" She asked incredulously, putting aside her sobering theory aside.

"I told you just now," He answered, slightly exasperated and irritable from lack of sleep. "Can we just sleep already? You can tell me all about it tomo-" He yawned and, without bothering to finish his sentence, set his head upon his paws and promptly drifted off. Normally, it was generally quite rude to go to sleep in another's presence without asking pardon, but Áina already subtly suspected that Buollabuohccid's general cultural ignorance was not coincidental.

_How can it be a coincidence if he doesn't even know what Mánnučiegara is, and if he's lacking the fundamental basics of etiquette? _Áina wondered, lying down on her side next to Buollabuohccid, looking at him thoughtfully. Indeed, where did he come from? Where is his family and relatives? Who are they? All of these questions remained yet unanswered: Buollabuohccid revealed nothing about himself to Áina these two days, except for his name, and even that, Buollabuohccid said, was artificial.

Áina could not close her eyes and drift away with all of these thoughts. She finally decided to try to pry out some information out of her mysterious companion the next day. Having calmed her curiosity down with the resolution, she followed Buollabuohccid's example and happily skipped away into the dream fields and Mánnuipmil's warm embrace.

So... Um, yeah. Like last chapter, culture questions are redirected to the Culturepedia... What? You don't know what that is...? You know, the random list of words at the end of the first chapter? Yeah, that. I swear, where would y'all be without me, eh?

_Please press the button, write a review, and move on quickly, as prolonged exposure to the Aperture Science Fanfiction Reviewing Super-Conducting Super-Collider Button is not part of reading this chapter._

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